The Orthodox saint library.

Martyr Paraskevi of Rome

July 26

Paraskevi’s traditional life presents a woman formed by prayer and the study of Scripture. After her parents died, she gave away her inheritance and devoted herself to proclaiming Christ. She continued that witness despite arrest and threats under Roman authorities. Accounts of healing and deliverance form part of her veneration, and Orthodox Christians especially seek her prayers in illness. Her life unites freedom from wealth with a refusal to surrender faith for safety or honors. Paraskevi offers an example of learning that moves outward into generosity, public witness, and mercy toward people who oppose her.

Martyr Pelagia of Tarsus

October 7

Pelagia of Tarsus is remembered in a martyr narrative as a young woman who learned about Christ from Christian friends. She sought baptism from Bishop Linus and then shared her possessions with poor people. Her decision to follow Christ brought conflict with expectations of marriage and with her mother's wishes. The received life describes her refusing demands to abandon that commitment and eventually suffering execution. Christians later honored her burial place with a church. Her commemoration preserves a witness to conversion and steadfast faith, while the detailed account of imperial courtship and extraordinary martyrdom belongs to hagiographic tradition rather than independently established political history.

Martyr Peter the Aleut

September 24

The Church remembers Peter as an Indigenous Alaskan Christian who died in captivity in California after refusing to abandon his Orthodox faith. The traditional account comes through testimony preserved by Simeon Yanovsky and related in the life of Herman of Alaska. Peter’s confession is simple and persistent: his identity in Christ could not be surrendered under coercion. Details of the episode depend on that transmitted witness rather than extensive surviving documentation. His commemoration gives particular attention to a person whose vulnerability would otherwise make him easy to lose from historical memory, honoring steadfast faith without encouraging hostility toward present-day neighbors.

Martyr Photini the Samaritan Woman, her sons, and those with them

March 20

Martyr Platon of Ancyra

November 18

Plato was raised by Christian parents in Ancyra and learned the Scriptures. His public preaching led to his arrest and appearance before the governor Agrippinus. Plato refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods. The account remembers his continued Christian confession through torture and his execution at the beginning of the fourth century.

Martyr Polyeuktos of Melitene in Armenia

January 9

Polyeuktos was a soldier in Melitene and a close friend of the Christian soldier Nearkhos. The traditional account describes their conversation during persecution as the turning point in Polyeuktos’s commitment to Christ. His public rejection of pagan worship brought him into conflict with the authorities and with members of his own family. He remained steadfast and suffered martyrdom before receiving ordinary baptism. Later a church in Melitene honored his memory, and devotion to him spread widely. His commemoration remembers the influence of faithful friendship and a decision that changed the direction of a previously respected life.